Latest update December 13th, 2024 1:00 AM

Guyana's largest selling daily and New York's most popular weekly

Latest News

WHY DO WE LIKE TO PULL OUR LEADERS DOWN?

Dec 16, 2009 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

I remember when Brian Lara broke the world batting record for a second time in ten years. It was one of the greatest moments for the Caribbean and showed that despite what V. S. Naipaul may have felt, greatness and smallness are not incompatible.
All West Indians should have been dancing in the streets at this phenomenal feat by a son of the Caribbean. Instead the euphoria of the moment was dampened by many who kept emphasizing that while Lara was a great batsman he was a poor captain.
At the time, the West Indies were doing badly in international cricket and the cricketing public felt despondency by the performance of the team and not even the monumental achievement could shake them out of their state of mind. It was unfortunate because what Lara did in breaking the world record two times in ten years was testimony to his greatness and is a feat not likely to be seen again in any lifetime. Yet for all this there were many West Indians who wanted to pull him down in his and our hour of greatness.
I have seen a similar thing happen in Guyana recently in respect to two issues. The first is the contention by Ravi Dev that the narrative of Freddie Kissoon tends to demonize and is likely to be used to justify violence against East Indians. Dev in his usual scholarly fashion has pointed to two types of revisionist arguments: those that are constructive and based on scrupulous research and the sifting of evidence, and those that are negative and aimed not at the truth but at a particular self-serving outcome.
There is no disputing that much of what Kissoon writes falls into the latter category. Unable to respond in a scholarly manner and use thorough arguments, Kissoon resorts to his traditional weapon of invectives, accusing Dev of being a propagandist for the PPP.  Kissoon, who is unable to deal with the facts and issues, enters into a mud fight, something that he revels in. This is sad because one expected that a person of Kissoon’s intelligence would have offered a more scholarly rebuttal of the points made by Dev.
Dev has assumed an important role in the political debate in Guyana and far from being a government propagandist, he offers considerable food for thought and has raised the level of political discourse in Guyana. It is sad to see people try to pull him down rather than give serious thought to what he is arguing.
The second case concerns the President of Guyana. It has been alleged that the President of Guyana has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Now it would be a great thing for Guyana if our President were to be awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in promoting a new global climate change deal.
There are some who feel that President Jagdeo does not deserve the Nobel Prize. Some of these persons have even confused the Nobel Peace Prize with the other Nobel awards. There is no reason why President Jagdeo should not be awarded the Nobel Prize for his work on arresting climate change. Al Gore won the Nobel Prize for raising the consciousness of the world as regards global warming and President Jagdeo has done just as much as nay leader in the world in calling attention to the need for a new international treaty that would help reduce greenhouse gases and reward countries which contribute to improved environmental practices.
President Jagdeo is making waves internationally and this is something that we should not begrudge him. He handled himself well in a recent Hard Talk interview and all Guyana should have been proud of his performance and the role he is playing at the moment. He is undertaking his new task with passion and commitment and this is something that we should all respect even if we do not agree with his domestic policies.
Instead of trying to encourage our President, however, there are many persons who are trying to pull him down. Like crabs in a barrel we are all trying to get out by pulling others down. And this is the sad state of our predicament in the Caribbean. We are constantly pulling each other down because we want to get our way.
We may not agree with the need for Guyana to save the rest of the world by forgoing developmental possibilities so that we can keep our forests intact and be paid by the rest of the world for so doing. But at least we should admire the drive of our President in pressing for climate change, for whatever the criticisms, he is being taken seriously within the international community.

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

 

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Dream debut: Jangoo hits magnificent 104* to lead West Indies to 3-0 ODI series sweep over Bangladesh

Dream debut: Jangoo hits magnificent 104* to lead West Indies to 3-0...

Dec 13, 2024

SportsMax – On the back of a magnificent debut century by Amir Jangoo, the West Indies completed a 3-0 ODI series sweep over Bangladesh with a four-wicket triumph in the third game at Warner...
Read More
Guyana bounced out of FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in Puerto Rico

Guyana bounced out of FIBA 3×3 AmeriCup in...

Dec 13, 2024

VMFA concludes year with memorable Football Festival

VMFA concludes year with memorable Football...

Dec 13, 2024

Resounding success for Region 6 CNOOC Petroleum Guyana Limited-GTTA/MoE  National Schools Table Tennis C/ships

Resounding success for Region 6 CNOOC Petroleum...

Dec 13, 2024

GCC hosts stellar awards ceremony following successful 2024

GCC hosts stellar awards ceremony following...

Dec 13, 2024

CSEC PE Golf Numbers Rising Due to Guyana Golf Association Efforts

CSEC PE Golf Numbers Rising Due to Guyana Golf...

Dec 13, 2024

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.

Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]